The crucial final One-Dayer in Christchurch was finally lost to the rain and the unfathomable Duckworth-Lewis method which granted a win to New Zealand (who were actually) looking like losing, simply because it rained.

One day I’ll try to grasp the ins and outs of their bizarre equations and attempt an explanation for all you baffled cricket betting fans. Mind you, it’s too early to feel a lot of enthusiasm for the prospect of the England team in the looming test series after seeing their low key performance in such a vital game.

It was a vital game because it needed to be the confidence boosting springboard that England craves to enter this test series with more than a wing and a prayer for success. After a promising start, England fell short of a respectable score by about thirty or forty runs.

As usual they blamed a wicket that the New Zealanders subsequently seemed to have little problem with. It looked like they would cruise home but suddenly, thanks largely to Sidebottom, wickets fell and the home team were looking at forty runs with stacks of overs but only four wickets left. Then the rains came and Duckworth-Lewis dictated the result.

The thing is, this England team has the components to succeed at the highest level. They have the bowlers, the batsmen and the fielders and when they all play well together they win matches. The real problem is with the consistency of the batting and this causes a sense of insecurity in this area which they counter by bringing in an extra bat at the expense of a bowler which would have been, in the case of Christchurch, a spinner to vary the pace of the game.

Online betting buffs recognise that, until England can stabilise the mindset of the top five batsmen and make them as reliable as a Boycott, Barrington or Botham then we will continue to struggle and be forced into decisions we would rather not have to make.

 Final Match at Christchurch Sat 23 Feb / Forthcoming Test Series first match Tue 4 March